The move is part of the Alliance’s Rewind on Ratios campaign to reverse the plans set out by education and childcare minister Liz Truss.
The Alliance says that although thousands of practitioners have signed petitions against changes to ratios the Government appears to be ignoring the views of the early years and childcare sector.
More than 14,000 people have signed the Alliance’s paper petition for parents of children attending the Alliance’s settings – 11,000 in the first 48 hours alone.
A parallel petition started by childminder Penny Webb has now reached more than 25,000 signatures, along with a petition from the Childminding Forum, which has similar numbers.
The Alliance’s decision to post the petition on the Government website follows numerous calls from parents for an official online petition. Parents want to widen the campaign against the changes to staff: child ratios further than the early years and childcare sector, with the aim of getting as many people as possible to join the protests.
Any epetition that attracts more than 100,000 signatures will be considered for a debate in the House of Commons. Once the petition reaches 10,000 signatures the relevant Government department - in this case, the Deprtment for Education - must provide a response.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said, ‘It’s time to take our campaign to the next level and ensure Government listens to the widespread concerns about its ill-thought-out proposals.’
The petition on the Government’s website calls for the Government to scrap its plans on childcare ratio changes and undertake a full consultation with practitioners and parents on future proposals.
It says that the proposals will impact on child safety and child support.
‘With more children to look after, staff will undoubtedly have less time to keep an eye on your child, posing a real risk to their physical wellbeing.
‘Staff will have less time to engage with your child on a one-to-one basis. This is a particular concern for children with additional needs, who may require extra care and attention.’
The Alliance believes that although the changes are voluntary, market pressures will force many childcarers to move to the new ratios, creating a two-tier childcare sector, which will lower overall quality.
Mt Leitch said, ‘We believe these proposed ratio changes are a huge mistake. They will create a two-tier sector that will lower the overall quality of childcare provision, children will have less one-to-one support from childcare workers and children’s wellbeing could be put at risk.
‘Parents share our concerns and so the Alliance’s Rewind on Ratios campaign calls for the Government to reconsider its plans and listen to the views of parents and practitioners who do not want the ratios to be relaxed. The Government has argued that these changes are in the best interest of parents, but parents themselves have made it abundantly clear to us that while they would like cheaper childcare, the cost of reducing quality and jeopardising the safety of their children is a much higher price than they would be prepared to pay.
‘In the weeks since the announcement at the end of January, the childcare and early years sector has fought hard to get the Government to change its mind. Tens of thousands of practitioners have signed petitions against ratio changes, but still the Government appears reluctant to listen. While the Government may ignore childcare practitioners, it would be a folly to ignore parents as well.
‘More than 14,000 parents have already signed up to our paper-based petition against the changes, with 11,000 signing in the first 48 hours alone. We know that building the accompanying online petition is likely to be a longer process, but we are in this fight for the long-haul.’
- The Alliance hopes that all settings opposed to these ratio changes will tell their parents about the Rewind on Ratios campaign and encourage them to sign up to the e-petition.
